If you’ve logged into Facebook in the past few weeks, you’ve probably noticed that it looks different. Dramatically different. So how are you supposed to navigate through your favorite social media website with these newly integrated features?

To better understand the new Facebook and continue to connect with friends in social media, here is a quick tutorial that you can use to navigate through the changes:

1. Understand the new Newsfeed. With the major changes made to the Facebook newsfeed recently, users have been complaining that they want their old newsfeed back. Most recently, Facebook has decided to come to a compromise. They’ve made a small change in the newsfeed to let users check out recent stories in reverse chronological order, just like in the old days of Facebook. The good news for Facebook users is that Facebook is listening to your feedback and will take action if enough people are unhappy. Facebook will now have a new drop-down menu for the newsfeed with either Recent Stories or Highlighted Stories first – user’s choice.

2. Get acquainted with the Ticker. At the right side of the page, you will now find a real-time Ticker that tells you exactly what friends are doing, similar to the real-time updates on Twitter. This real-time Ticker is a live feed of all Facebook activity in your group of friends. All you have to do is click on any post in the Ticker to see activity and comment – without ever leaving your home page. If you find this annoying, you are not alone. Many Facebook users feel that the new Ticker makes the page too busy and distracting. But it also provides you with the opportunity to stay connected to all activities that your friends engage in every second of the day.

3. Use the Subscribe Button. If you are like most of the world, you have quite a few Facebook friends that you would rather not hear from on your newsfeed. Maybe they talk too much about themselves, maybe they shamelessly promote their business, or maybe they post a picture after picture of their baby. Whatever the reason, using the new Subscribe button will let you determine how much information you want to see from a specific friend. You can use this Subscribe button to weed out friends you don’t want to hear from as often and keep tabs on close friends in the newsfeed.

4. Change your friend settings. If you are going to send a friend request to a new friend, hover over the Friend Button on their profile first. This will give you options to add someone as a Close Friend or Acquaintance, determining how many of their posts that you will see in your feed.

Guess Author:  Joel Newman is a freelance writer experienced in Internet marketing and social media marketing. For more information on top registry cleaners to speed up your PC, you can visit Joel Newman’s Registry Repair website.

I wanted to share this amazing infographic about social media usage in the United States.  Check out these astounding stats, share away, and leave your comments below.                                          

Source:  AgentGenius is a rapidly growing real estate social media, tech, news, and opinion site built and designed by and for the on-the-go agent. Their mission is to be a positive force in the industry, led by people inside of real estate. They aim to keep you up to date on trends that we study closely in order to forecast what’s next on the horizon.

What do you think of these astonishing stats?  Please leave your comments below.

Social media marketing is a booming trend, so it’s no wonder that it’s easier than ever to find all of your favorite brands on popular websites like Twitter and Facebook. Businesses of all sizes are relying on social media to improve customer communication since social networking is much more efficient and cost effective than communicating via the telephone or e-mail.

If you’re a customer that has a concern, question, or a comment, you can reach out to the majority of brands through social media in a matter of seconds. On top of that, since brands are relying on social media for marketing purposes, many top businesses are giving their customers rewards for following them on Twitter or liking them on Facebook.

Here are a few top benefits you can receive from following your favorite brands in social media:

1. You can be heard. Rather than sending an e-mail to a business or even participating in a survey, you can post your comment or tweet a response in just a few seconds. Since most businesses are new to the social media plunge, it’s likely that you’ll receive a response within a few hours or even a day to your question or concern.

On top of that, since Twitter is a public website, a business won’t want other customers to see a public customer concern that hasn’t been dealt with. If you’re posting on a public social media website, a business is much more likely to respond to you than if you just send an e-mail.

2. You can find out about special deals and contests. Brands are more excited than ever to use social media to promote specials, giveaways, and contests. Even mega brands like Verizon have leaned heavily on social media by using hashtags on Twitter to promote a series of giveaways to drum up sales from new customers.

If you have a favorite brand, it literally pays to stay in the know and use social media to take advantage of discount offers you can’t find anywhere else.

3. You can eliminate confusion. If you’re confused about a company’s new product or how to take advantage of a coupon, you can post a question on Facebook to receive a near immediate response. This is much more effective than visiting forums with answers from other Internet users.

Why rely on another customer’s speculation or perspective when you can go to the horse’s mouth and get your answer directly from the brand through social media? Even better, you won’t have to worry about staying on hold with a company for minutes on end to get the help you need.

4. You can become part of the bigger picture. Starbucks is one of the leading brands in social media, and they have taken the next step by introducing the forum My Starbucks Idea. The amazing thing about this forum is that customers are allowed to post their ideas and suggestions, and Starbucks actually listens.

This is a brilliant strategy on behalf of Starbucks. Customers everywhere are impressed that they are being heard by a large corporation, and Starbucks is getting great ideas for free that they can use for product development.

Guest Author:  Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

Hands-down, Google is the most popular website on earth. Yet they seem to be worried about their stiff competition coming in at a close second – none other than Facebook.

This is precisely why Google has decided to introduce their own social network as Google +. Google has tried to make a number of different social media channels over the years, like Google Buzz and Google Wave. Yet nothing has caught on so far…

But now we can consider Google + for a second. Google + makes no bones about the fact that it is supposed to be just like Facebook with a few enhancements. Maybe we could call it “Facebook with a facelift”? Instead of opening up Google + to the public, Google has decided to create a little bit of buzz, so to speak.

Upon its introduction, you can’t sign up directly for Google + just yet. Initially, you have to be invited by someone else who is a member in the beta stage of this social network. But even with this type of exclusive appeal, Google + has managed to gather 10 million members as of July 2011. This is nowhere near the mega benchmark set by Facebook at 750 million members, but it seems to be off to a strong start.

Google + versus Facebook

At first glance, Google + looks like a copycat of Facebook. You can post your thoughts and updates, just like you can to the Facebook wall. There is also something called a Stream, which is exactly like the Newsfeed on Facebook. And to compete with the “Like” button on Facebook, Google + offers a +1 button so that you can show that you are a fan of a post, picture, video, or what have you.

But the big, shiny difference between the two is that Google + has a little something called Circles.

If you’ve ever had the thought when using Facebook that you’d love to say something a little more inappropriate, a little more private, or a little wackier than what you would share with all of your friends, Circles may be the answer. You can create circles of friends, family, acquaintances, and following, which is similar to Twitter. You can also create your own circles with specific members, like Grandparents or College Friends, where you can share private jokes or special stories to your heart’s content without boring everyone else on your Stream.

And when you decide to share something, you are able to specify which circle that it is sent to. Of course, you can choose to send the information to all of your circles or just one to keep a bit of news private. This minimizes much of the fuss surrounding social media, like teachers getting fired for posting pictures of a drunken party or saying something inappropriate. If you want to post something that you don’t want your boss to see, then don’t post it to a public circle, plain and simple.

Although this may be a subtle difference between Google + and Facebook, only time will tell how the Circles feature attracts users to this new social network.

Guest Author:  Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

As a customer, you’ve probably experienced the benefits of mobile marketing to give you discounts, specials, and freebies from your favorite brand. Right? Well, as a business owner, you can use this same type of hands-on mobile marketing to reach customers more effectively than ever before.

Even the most popular fast food chains like Subway, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and Wendy’s started marketing to customers with text marketing, iPhone apps, and mobile coupons just a few years ago. Many of these mobile apps will allow a customer to place an order online and pick up their food moments later. Simply brilliant.

Even large retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy stay connected with customers via text for holiday specials and discounts and have introduced iPhone apps to give customers more options. Instead of visiting the official website, customers can read reviews, order products, and create a gift list directly through their mobile phone.

As a business owner, you can take your mobile marketing campaign beyond just the standard text message. You can get creative with the following ideas:

• Mobile Payments: Starbucks recently introduced Starbucks Card Mobile payments available at more than 1000 Safeway locations via the Android App. Customers can load up their Starbucks card on their mobile phone and use their phone to pay for their coffee at their convenience. This means that Starbucks mobile payment is now available on 90% of all smartphones to make it virtually impossible for a customer not to connect with Starbucks through their mobile device.

• Mobile Coupons: Stores like 7-Eleven have tested out scannable mobile coupons from smartphones to give customers bonuses like a free drink on a daily basis. Target introduced the same concept in 2010 by offering scannable mobile coupons sent to customers via text each month. A customer will then scan their mobile device during checkout to receive the discount.

• Smartphone Apps: Sears and J.C. Penney are at the top of the retail category when it comes to iPhone apps, along with other contenders like Amazon and Best Buy. All of these retail apps have convenient store locators, special deals for customers, and a way to create a customizable shopping list to order online or use at a later date.

For business owners, the choice is clear. If you want to connect with your customers even more effectively, it’s time to get creative and move beyond the standard text message. You can reach out to customers using a variety of interactive mobile methods to make it easier than ever before for interested customers to buy from you.

Guest Author:  Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

Please vote and include any additional opinions in the comments below!

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If you’re a small business owner who already uses text message marketing, then you’re on the right track. But it’s still important to stay up-to-date with the latest mobile marketing trends to ensure that you too can stay ahead of the pack.

Currently, there are four times as many mobile phones in the world as opposed to PC users. Roughly 20% of houses in the US are mobile only without a landline.

When you consider that we send 130 billion text messages each month, mobile marketing can be incredibly lucrative for small and large businesses if it is approached correctly. This is precisely why so many businesses have embraced text message marketing wholeheartedly as the most popular form of mobile marketing. Which is why text messaging is now becoming more mainstream than ever before.

To best grasp the concept, text messaging should be compared to e-mail marketing and can be used in the same way that you would create an e-mail campaign. Of course, instead of encouraging your customers to give you their e-mail address for a newsletter or a coupon, you’ll be asking for a mobile phone number to send the same type of condensed updates to a mobile phone.

Yet mobile marketing provides an even greater benefit. You don’t have to go to the trouble of creating a fancy e-mail campaign with images and video because you’ll only be using 160 characters of a text message. Even if a customer doesn’t make a sale the first time, 97% of your customers will still read your text message because it’s so short. You can’t beat those odds!

Businesses have been using text messages to reach out to customers for several years. A Comscore study has confirmed that 25% of all mobile phone users have signed up for anywhere from 1 to 10 text messaging programs on a monthly basis. This means that customers are ready and willing, and you can reach them with your marketing message at any time away from home.

And the text marketing trend continues. People of all ages are using texts for communication, meaning that businesses can use text message marketing for all generations. More and more customers are searching for mobile coupons as our economy recovers from the recession and programs like Groupon rise in popularity. As a result, a number of retail stores, grocers, and restaurants have launched mobile coupon marketing programs to reach out to more customers.

Last but not least, the result that can’t be beat in text marketing is the impressive ROI. A text message will normally get seven times the response rate as an e-mail, meaning that the same message sent out to the same group of customers via text versus e-mail will be much more successful to generate even more sales and revenue.

Guest Author:  Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

What started as a mere trend several years ago has now evolved into its own culture. Social commerce is gaining popularity by leaps and bounds in the virtual world and shows no signs of slowing down. Selling products online was once reserved for major retailers with massive inventories and the selling power to reach the masses. Now, thanks to sites like eBay, web stores, and applications for social media platforms such as Facebook, anyone can market and sell their products online.

Having a successful social commerce campaign hinges on a number of factors. It’s not something you should venture into blindly without having done at least some minimal research. Although once you get your ecommerce campaign up and running, it can run on autopilot to some extent. However, there are certain areas in which you always have to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to selling your products online.

Let’s take a look at the four most important ingredients in a successful social commerce campaign:

A Multifaceted Approach

Simply using one or two of the array of free social media tools available today won’t get you very far in your social commerce campaign. The key to making these tools work for your brand is not just using them, but using them in tandem with other avenues of marketing to gain maximum exposure. Add Facebook and Twitter widgets to your business website and blog. Add links to your website and blog to your Facebook Fan Page and Storefront and your Twitter account. Tweet about sales, promotions, new products and services. Blog about these events as well and announce the blog updates on your Fan Page. Let everything you do online reciprocate what you’ve already done, allowing the campaign to come full circle.

Get Personal

Customers want to feel like their opinions matter and achieving that strengthens the bond between the buyer and the seller. Try to involve your customers in your business as much as you can. Constantly ask for feedback about their experiences and take their suggestions. Ask them to vote on which products should be introduced next and which services they would like you to offer in the future. Asking for their opinion lets your customers know that you are listening to them, which works to establish brand loyalty. On the flipside of that, don’t forget to interact with your fans on a personal level. Respond to their comments and posts. Let them know you’re reading and listening.

Reward That Loyalty

Reward your loyal social media followers with exclusive discounts and specials that are not available to other customers. Not only does this show your appreciation for your loyal followers, it also provides the incentive for them to recommend your brand to others.

Don’t Oversell

Instead of always posting about products you have for sale, ask questions or create polls to get your customers involved. Share relevant industry news or even some candid insights into your personal life. If your company is involved in other events or causes, let your fans know it. Random trivia, current events and human interest stories are always good conversation starters. Yes, the point of social commerce is selling your products and services, but nobody likes high pressure tactics or feeling like they’re being “sold” to all the time.

Guest Author: Helen Fang is the social media expert at Vendio, an ecommerce software company that enables online businesses to sell on Facebook, eBay, Amazon, and Google from one platform.

Under the broad umbrella of mobile marketing is location based marketing. Savvy smartphone users everywhere can pull up local search results on their phones at any time. These same smartphone users rely upon location based apps and social networks to share, interact, meet, and even recommend certain places to their online friends.

Some top location based networks for mobile users include:

• Foursquare
• Gowalla
• Loopt
• Yelp

As a business owner, the first step in the process to maximize this mobile marketing platform is to understand how each location based social network works. Most users will rely on the above apps on their smartphones to check in to certain locations to alert their friends of their whereabouts. The same feature can also be used with Facebook Places.

In order to get acclimated, download all of the above apps to your smartphone so that you can understand how each is best used.

The next step in the process is to set clear goals for what you hope to accomplish with the use of location mobile marketing for your business. Perhaps you want to increase local traffic to your retail store, raise awareness about a new shop that has opened up, or even bring back repeat customers to support your business.

After these goals have been set in place, it’s time to make a splash into the many location based social networks. It’s important that your business is listed clearly on the each of the above networks with the right address, hours, phone number, and description. If another user has added your business, they could have gotten quite a bit of the information incorrect, causing interested customers unnecessary frustration.

Last but not least, it’s time to synchronize all of your mobile marketing efforts and tell your customers where they can easily find you online. The truth is that local customers are looking to connect with local businesses online as well as offline.

So, by adding a sign to your storefront telling customers to check you out on Yelp and encouraging your Facebook fans to check in to your business on Foursquare to spread the word, you’re making an impact in the location based social networks. This ripple effect will make it easy for new customers to find you, and it will also keep your brand name out there to encourage customer loyalty. Win-win!

Guest Author: Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

If you’ve taken the big leap and joined the ranks of the online video marketers, congratulations! The first video is always the most difficult.

But now that you’ve produced your first video, what’s next? How do you not only maximize the marketing from that video, but also create new video marketing opportunities? Unless you want to succumb to the dreaded “one and done” syndrome, you’ll want to create a strategic marketing plan for using video regularly in your business.

As with any plan, you must begin with the end in mind. What are your business objectives for video? Is it to grow your list? Build your brand? Drive more web traffic? Enhance your credibility? Your goals will determine your direction.

If you said “all of the above” to the video goals we just listed, here are some ideas for maintaining your video momentum…

1. Create an “expert tips” series to share your expertise. Short, 1 – 2 minute “how to” videos are a great way to increase your credibility and expand your influence.

2. If you’ve got a blog, add a videoblog post every couple of weeks. The search engines love video, and your readers will be treated to a dynamic change of pace from your traditional blog posts. Extra bonus: Video is much more personal and compelling than print alone!

3. Get some face time. Use a personal video message or video email to go “face to face” with your clients or prospects. Sending a video greeting, birthday wishes or a thank you video have much more impact than yet another regular email. If you want to stand out and be memorable, use video!

4. Make it an event. Whether you’re promoting a webinar or launching a new product, nothing makes a bold statement like video. Adding video to your promotional plans makes your webinar or launch look more like a special event. Again, it’s the best way to break through the online clutter and make sure your message gets noticed.

5. Go Live! You can do a live webcast or offer a “Q & A” video session using free platforms such as Livestream or Ustream.tv. These web resources make it easy to fire up your webcam and go live whenever you want. A live webcast is dynamic, engaging and highly interactive. (You may want to do a test run first, just to get comfortable with the format).

However you decide to use video, it will put your marketing on overdrive and accelerate your results. The secret is consistency and strategy. Make a plan and stick to it. Anyone can make one video. The real winners online will be those who make online video a regular part of their marketing efforts.

Guest Author: Lou Bortone is an Online Branding Specialist and video pro who helps entrepreneurs and service professionals build breakthrough brands on the Internet, so they can have more visibility, credibility and profitability. Lou delivers innovative online branding strategies, including video production and editing, social media marketing and online video consulting.

Lou is a former television executive who worked for E! Entertainment Television and Fox in Los Angeles. He is also an author and ghostwriter of six business books, a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach.

Find out more at www.LouBortone.com, and for online video info and resources, visit: www.OnlineVideopolis.com.

One of my favorite authors, Bob Burg let me borrow this great post.  Remember, the same applies to social networking and anything else we do online as well.  God did give us two ears and one mouth for this reason!

Yes, I heard it again; while a young kid talked endlessly, a person nearby, with a wink in his voice, commented that “he’ll be a good salesperson one day.”

As I grow older and wiser (first one a definite; second one debatable) I find there are fewer and fewer phrases that elicit within me a visceral negative reaction. That statement always does though.

I mean, think of it…it is based on the premise that a person who just incessantly talks and talks and talks…is a good salesperson.

I’ve asked countless people, “do you tend to buy from salespeople who simply yap non-stop about their product?” They always – yes, always (and often emphatically) – tell me “no.”

Yet, I still hear it.

Recently, on my Facebook page, I posted the following:

Those with the “gift of gab” can be good salespeople…providing they are willing to lose, or at least misplace, their gift of gab and listen. Really listen.

One friend wrote, “Yes, so true! I had a sales manager once who said the challenge many potentially great salespeople had was knowing when to shut up.”

While that is indeed true, that wisdom is often given within the context of “after” the presentation…in other words, to shut up and not “talk past the sale.” And, that is certainly very valid advice. I believe the real point of the quote, however, goes far beyond that. It’s an attitude from the outset and throughout the sales process.

My good friend, presentation and communication expert, Felicia Slattery commented, “Listening is the other side of the speaking coin. To be an effective communicator you must do BOTH well.” She then suggested listening twice as much as talking. Good idea.

As any professional salesperson knows, listening more than talking during the presentation typically results in a much better outcome, both for the salesperson and the prospect who will then get to enjoy the benefits of that which they purchased.

Listening; focused, active, caring listening allows you to direct your attention on the prospect and understand their needs. Only then can you build value because, after all, it’s the prospect who determines what the actual value is.

So sure, can that young kid with the “gift of gab” grow up and become a top-notch, professional, value-creating, high-income earning salesperson? Sure he can. But only if he loses that “gift” along the way.

Guest Author: Bob Burg is coauthor of the International bestseller, “The Go-Giver.” To download Chapter One visit www.Burg.com.

Sure, you can try your hand at mobile marketing as a small business owner, but what’s going to guarantee that you’ll be a success? How do you know that you’re not going to waste thousands of dollars of your advertising budget trying to reach your customers through text or smartphone apps?

Fortunately, the answer is simple. As a small business owner, you can develop a clear mobile marketing strategy that will ensure that you avoid many common mistakes that competitors in your industry have likely made by now. When mobile marketing is approached correctly, you can reach your customers even more effectively, quickly update them about product news and specials, and boost your sales as a result.

1. What phones are your customers using? This may be a no-brainer, but you need to find out what type of phones that your customer base uses on a regular basis. If your customers don’t have smartphones, then there’s no use in creating a smartphone app. On the flipside, if your customer base uses smartphones exclusively, then your best bet would be to create a smartphone app to market to your customers or to have a presence on a smartphone social media location-based app, like Yelp or Foursquare.

Think about the fact that 33% of people in the US are using smartphones, and that number is only expected to increase. It’s likely that your customers are already using a smartphone, but it’s important to find out before planning your marketing strategy.

2. Ask for customers’ mobile phone numbers. It never hurts to ask! In all of your marketing materials or on your blog or website, give your customers the option to opt-in via text for more information about your business or products.

Make sure that you are crystal clear in your intention. By telling your customers that if they give you their phone number, you will send them text messages with exclusive product specials, you’re likely to quickly build up your mobile marketing list of customers.

3. Track your results carefully. Instead of just sending out mobile marketing text messages blindly and hoping for the best results, carefully track when customers opt in or opt out based on your marketing message.

If you sent out a particularly great product deal that got a lot of attention and increased your sales, then focus on that strategy when marketing via text to your customers. By using this analytic approach, you can detect any weak areas in your marketing campaign and ensure that you focus on your strengths to increase your profit even further.

Have you tried mobile marketing?  What other tips can you share?

Guest Author: Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

Text message marketing campaigns can be fantastically effective for several reasons:

• Quick and easy to prepare and send
• One of the lowest cost forms of direct marketing
• Response rates can be measured
• They have unbeatable delivery and open (i.e., read by recipients) rates

However, the very benefits offered by text message marketing also mean they have to be used with care.  Below are some highly effective tips to consider before you send your first text message marketing campaign.

Get a clear opt-in

Most people consider their mobile phone to be an extension of their personal space. This makes a text message very intrusive. Make sure your sign-up process is clear and unambiguous. Tell people that they will receive marketing texts from your business, what they’ll be about and roughly how frequently.

Avoid subscriber fatigue

Because they’re so potentially intrusive, most customers have a lower patience threshold when it comes to receiving marketing text messages. Use them sparingly, and only when you have something genuinely valuable for the customer. Treat each campaign as if it’s your last, and your business survival depends on it.

Track response rates

This means you can adjust campaigns to suit what your customers actually want. It involves having customers treat a text message as a coupon, e.g., to benefit from a 2 for 1 deal they have to display the text in-store. You can either just record the total number of vouchers redeemed, or you can identify every individual coupon redeemed using a merge field. The merge field would be a unique ID that you assign to each individual mobile phone number. This would be automatically displayed in the body of every single text message. A bit more work, but a great way to add segmentation to your marketing list.

Record unsubscribes

Every text message must give customers the option to opt out, quickly and easily. If you don’t have your text message and customer database systems automatically joined up, you’ll have to record unsubscribes manually. One low cost option is to set up a mobile phone number to receive just unsubscribe messages. Or, your text delivery service may be able to help set you up with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed to a web page or email address of your choice. Either way, you must remember to manually update your customer records.

Have you launched your first text message campaign?  What other text messaging tips can you share with readers?

Guest Author: After many years of business experience, George Drever has learned the hard way what does and doesn’t work when building a profitable marketing list and creating compelling email and text message campaigns.  He strongly believes an opted-in customer database is the most under-used asset in business.  His consultancy website helps small businesses avoid the same steep learning curve he encountered in getting the most out of direct marketing.

Mobile marketing is perhaps one of the best ways to grab the attention of your customers when they’re out and about. If your customers aren’t plugged into their computers, you can still update them with promotions and news in mere seconds. It can’t be beat.

But now that the benefits of mobile marketing are clear, how can you make this style of marketing work for your business? The good news is that mobile marketing campaigns often have excellent open rates at up to 98%, according to Frost & Sullivan statistics. This is impressive when compared to the average open rates of an e-mail marketing campaign, which often range from 15-30%.

This doesn’t mean that you have to throw email marketing by the wayside, but you can enhance your results by taking your marketing campaign to the mobile arena to reach out to your customers even more effectively.

Of course, you only get 160 characters or less to send your message, so you need to make them count.

1. Send Simple Messages

Keeping it simple is the way to go by sending out only one message per text. If you have been sending out a regular e-mail marketing campaign, then you may be used to covering several topics in your marketing message. The same does not hold true for mobile marketing! Make sure that each text message sent out has a simple, uniform message advertising an event, product special, or store discount.

2. Introduce Yourself

Even though a customer may have willingly opted-in to your mobile marketing list, their mobile phone may not show the sender of the message. To make your customer more comfortable and to reduce the risk of them deleting your message, introduce your brand and throw in the type of products that you offer if there is still space. Also, if you happen to be advertising an event or sale at a store location, make sure that you include the exact location to avoid any confusion.

3. Don’t Forget Your Call to Action

Last but not least, your mobile marketing messages won’t be effective if you don’t include your call to action. You need to ask your customer to act by interacting with your business, whether it is visiting your store, attending an event, or purchasing a product online. Think about what you want to achieve from the message that you’re sending. Make sure to ask each customer to take action within the text, or you’re not likely to see the marketing return that you were hoping for.

Guest Author: Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

Right now, 91% of Americans are mobile subscribers. In fact, mobile devices like smartphones are soon expected to surpass the popularity of PCs as a primary technological tool by the year 2013, according to a Gartner study.

For a business owner, the mobile market is pure advertising gold. Since 91% of the population is plugged into their mobile devices at any given time, you have the opportunity to reach out to potential customers on the go, provide them with information about your products and services, and encourage them to connect with your business either locally or online.

So how can you use mobile marketing to improve your marketing efforts as a business owner?

1. Text Messaging: Text messaging, also called SMS messaging, is a primary means of mobile marketing for many businesses. Customers can willingly opt-in to your text messaging list just as they would with an online e-mail list.

When customers type in a specific keyword or short code, they will be placed on your text message marketing list. Your text messaging service can then send out periodic text updates to interested customers about product specials, discounts, or events regarding your company.

2. Mobile E-mail Lists: If your business already has a solid e-mail marketing strategy, then you can use this same technique to reach out to mobile customers. For the many customers out there that have smartphones, they are ready and willing to connect via e-mail through their mobile devices.

You can ask customers to opt-in to your e-mail list through your website or text you their e-mail addresses to join your list. From there, the e-mails that you send out to your mobile subscribers can be customized for a mobile-friendly marketing campaign. They can include such options as displaying coupons on smartphones or allowing a customer to click on a business’s phone number instead of a web link.

3. Mobile Social Media: Since smartphones are soon becoming even more popular than PCs, you can greatly improve the visibility of your business by connecting with your customers through mobile social media applications.

By establishing your business’s presence on Facebook and Twitter, customers can like your posts or respond to your tweets when they are on the go. These same customers can also re-tweet and re-post your information if they find it relevant, thus giving you the opportunity to spread your marketing message to a whole new demographic!

Perhaps the best rule of thumb when it comes to a mobile marketing strategy is to give in order to get. If you begin to provide your customers with valuable information through text updates, mobile e-mails, and mobile social media posts, then you will be able to attract loyal customers to support your brand well into the future.

Guest Author: Bethany Ramos is an expert in Internet marketing and social media marketing, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.